Remote for DMA21/2200

[foxwood]

Most harmony remotes have been discontinued because logitech is exiting the remote business and selling off the entire line to some other company. The only models left are the Touch, 1100 and 650.

Not much of a business to sell off, then.

[mdavej]

There is one limitation of the Harmony 200 that makes it a less than ideal choice for an MCE setup - it does not have the skip forward/backward buttons.

Damn - that would be a problem all right!

I never even thought to look that closely at the image on Amazon - every DVD remote I've ever used has both FF and Skip buttons - why would you make a "universal remote" that didn't have them?

Great question. Skip buttons were also removed from their latest flagship model, the Touch. This is yet another example of how logitech has systematically ruined this product line in the past few years, starting with the 900. It's almost as if they're doing it on purpose. All they need is someone at the top who's actually used a remote. It isn't rocket science, but logitech just can't get it right. Hopefully the new owners will know a little bit more about how remotes are actually used.

[barnabas1969]

AR-RX18G FTW!

[mattiedread]

Bummer. I got the Logitech 200, just set it up from myharmony.com ... and, I can't find the buttons for recorded TV, Guide (well, that one is there) Live TV and Menu (which is Menu). The idea that there is no > or < is a total bummer and would have been a deal killer, but, this remote is totally programmable. I'll play with it later.

[mdavej]

AR-RX18G FTW!

Excellent choice. That's my remote too. Did you know it works with JP1 software now? Go get the latest alpha of Remote Master and check it out.

[staknhalo]

AR-RX18G FTW!

Just looked that up, pretty spiffy.

I just said spiffy....what the hell am I doing with my life?!

[barnabas1969]

AR-RX18G FTW!

Just looked that up, pretty spiffy.

I just said spiffy....what the hell am I doing with my life?!

Yeah. Best remote I've ever owned. I've had my first one for about 3 years. I bought it new at Best Buy when they first came out for $149. I bought the 2nd one for my bedroom, used on e-bay for $70 or $80 about a year ago. They've gone crazy on the price lately though. Maybe it's because Logitech is getting out of the business?

The only problem I've had in 3 years is the battery started to die in my first one. I picked up a new, larger-capacity battery online for about $17. It's a pretty common battery that is used in a variety of cameras, so it's easy to find.

EDIT: The only thing it doesn't do, that a Harmony does, is power-state tracking. I've lived without power-state tracking on every remote I've ever owned anyway. With some forethought, you can do without power-state tracking. It's especially easy if you choose HT components that have discreet on/off commands.

[barnabas1969]

AR-RX18G FTW!

Excellent choice. That's my remote too. Did you know it works with JP1 software now? Go get the latest alpha of Remote Master and check it out.

Interesting. Does it work by using a plain old USB cable, or do I need to build/buy a special cable? If I mess around with Remote Master, and decide to go back to the original firmware in the AR-RX18G, can I do that? What features does Remote Master add that I don't already have with the EZ-RC software?

[mdavej]

AR-RX18G FTW!

Excellent choice. That's my remote too. Did you know it works with JP1 software now? Go get the latest alpha of Remote Master and check it out.

Interesting. Does it work by using a plain old USB cable, or do I need to build/buy a special cable? If I mess around with Remote Master, and decide to go back to the original firmware in the AR-RX18G, can I do that? What features does Remote Master add that I don't already have with the EZ-RC software?

Yep, plain old USB cable. Haven't had time to play with it myself yet. The main benefits over EZ-RC would be download/upload speed (only a couple of seconds), no dependency on the web, no programming wizards to slow you down, pronto hex import, learned signal analysis, custom protocols and upgrades, access to JP1 device upgrade database, save and load unlimited configurations off line, etc. Basically all the benefits RM brings to other JP1 remotes.

RM doesn't mess with the firmware, only the RAM, so there should be no problem going back and forth between EZ-RC and RM. But it is in alpha and not 100% complete, so there is risk involved. I'm just trying to spread the word a little so the developer can get some feedback. At the end of the day, it would be great be independent of EZ-RC should UEI ever shut it down (similar to the current Harmony situation) and be able to save/load any number of configs locally.

If you haven't used RM in a while, make sure you install 2.02a first so you get all the drivers. Then replace with 2.03 alpha 12. If you've never used RM, then check out the beginner stickies on that site since there is quite a learning curve.

[SinisterEngr]

Bummer. I got the Logitech 200, just set it up from myharmony.com ... and, I can't find the buttons for recorded TV, Guide (well, that one is there) Live TV and Menu (which is Menu). The idea that there is no > or < is a total bummer and would have been a deal killer, but, this remote is totally programmable. I'll play with it later.

The colored A, B, C, and D buttons make great choices for programming any of the media center shortcut buttons. If I were in your situation, I would reprogram the FF/RW buttons to be skip forward/backward, since (for me anyway) they are used way more often than regular FF/RW. Then, I would put regular FF/RW on the up/down rocker button (that sits in-between the Menu/Info buttons). Less than ideal for sure, but it gives you everything you need.

[barnabas1969]

Yep, plain old USB cable. Haven't had time to play with it myself yet. The main benefits over EZ-RC would be download/upload speed (only a couple of seconds), no dependency on the web, no programming wizards to slow you down, pronto hex import, learned signal analysis, custom protocols and upgrades, access to JP1 device upgrade database, save and load unlimited configurations off line, etc. Basically all the benefits RM brings to other JP1 remotes.

RM doesn't mess with the firmware, only the RAM, so there should be no problem going back and forth between EZ-RC and RM. But it is in alpha and not 100% complete, so there is risk involved. I'm just trying to spread the word a little so the developer can get some feedback. At the end of the day, it would be great be independent of EZ-RC should UEI ever shut it down (similar to the current Harmony situation) and be able to save/load any number of configs locally.

If you haven't used RM in a while, make sure you install 2.02a first so you get all the drivers. Then replace with 2.03 alpha 12. If you've never used RM, then check out the beginner stickies on that site since there is quite a learning curve.

Thanks for the info. I've never used RM before. I looked into JP1 stuff a long time ago, but I never went forward with trying to program a JP1 remote. I'll try to read up on it this weekend.

One more question... does RM have a database of pre-defined IR commands for a wide variety of devices?

[mdavej]

There are thousands on the JP1 site which you download and customize to your liking. All are made by and for other users. It's trivial to make your own. Since the software tells you the exact structure of the signals, you can make your own devices and protocols using any code source like learns, pronto hex, codes from manuals, JP1 codes, whatever. It's pretty amazing.

[crawfish]

does RM have a database of pre-defined IR commands for a wide variety of devices?

You can find JP1 device upgrades for a huge number and variety of devices here:

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... y&cat_id=4

This is also the site for tool downloads, tutorials, forums, etc. You may not find your exact TV model number, say, but usually the codes for a prior model will work.

Sometimes I've had to download multiple files and piece together a composite that has everything I wanted. Occasionally, I've had to resort to more primary information, like this Excel master file for all the Pioneer AVR codes (there are almost 400 of them):

http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/dload ... le_id=7918

The dev, obc1, and obc2 columns are the relevant ones for the data I entered into RM. I started with a working device upgrade that had the correct protocol and protocol parameters preselected. Then I entered the codes for absent commands I wanted and bound them to buttons on my remote.